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JANUKA RAI SKIPS LIGHTLY
up a steep
trail deep in the Himalayas of Nepal, en
route to Annapurna, the world’s 10th
tallest mountain. Trailing behind her
arewheezing trekkers, loadedpackmules
and a handful of weathered porters car-
rying ice axes and climbing ropes. The
trekkers are enthusiastic; the porters
appear dubious. Women are bad luck in
the mountains, they say.
But that way of thinking is fast
becoming outmoded, partly due to Rai’s
employers. Nicky, Dicky and Lucky
Chhetri are three sisters who own what
once would have seemed impossible here: an all-female Himalayan trekking company.
The idea came about a er the Chhetris, who run a restaurant in Pokhara, kept hearing the
same complaint fromthe female trekkers who came into their eatery. “Instead of talking about
the Himalayas’ grandeur and beauty,” says Nicky, 43, “theywould tell us about obnoxiousmale
guides.” Despite the fact that they had nomountaineering experience, the Chhetris convinced
10women to join them in training to become guides—no small thing inNepal’smale-dominated
society. “Thewomenwere illiterate, afraid and at themercy of their husbands, and had to sneak
out at night for the training sessions,” Nicky recalls.
A er some early struggles, 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking took off. Today the Chhetris train
about 50 women a year, while their company leads hundreds of trekkers over the Annapurna
range. They recently added a childcare center for guides, and have stepped up their efforts to
recruit poor rural women, who otherwise would be making half as much money working in
the rice fields.
Atop Annapurna, Rai watches the late a ernoon sunlight turn an adjacent peak to gold. She
smiles, but she’s moved by more than the natural beauty. By summiting some of the world’s
tallest mountains, she’s been able to conquer another obstacle. “It also pays my college fees,”
she says. “Match that.”
Social
Climbers
Female guides rise through
the ranks in the Himalayas
BY ARUN BHATIA
POKHARA, NEPAL
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
MAY 2012
21
DISPATCHES
ILLUSTRATIONS BY PETER OUMANSKI